Clamping device for automatic coil winding machine



May 1, 1956 s, U s 2,743,877

CLAMFING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC COIL WINDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2, 1955 United States Patent CLAMPING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC COIL WINDING MACHINE Stefan Fiirst, Munchen-Gladbach, Rhinelancl, Germany,

assignor to Walter Reiners, Munchen-Gladbach, Rhineland, Germany Application February 2, 1953, Serial No. 334,433 3 Claims. Cl. 242-455 My invention concerns automatic coil winding n1achines particularly for the textile and related industries and is related to the invention of the copending application Ser. No. 308,033 filed September 5, 1952, of Stefan Fiirst.

The copending application discloses an apparatus which in response to breakage and also in response to failure of the thread delivers to a knotter a thread supplied from a bobbin to be unwound. The end of the thread to be supplied is seized by an arm by means of suction and gripping and presented to a knotting device, which ties the end to another end of a coil or yarn package on which the thread is to be wound.

My invention relates to the structural lay-out of the gripping device of the arm, which delivers the end of the thread. According to my invention one or several movable means are provided in or on the suction tube for the clamping of the thread, which means are operated by the difference between the inside pressure and the outside pressure. Such a member may be a membrane connected over a lever with the gripping members or a piston sliding movably in a cylinder connected with suction tube. The movement of the piston is transmitted by an operating lever to the gripping device. The transmission of the movement of the piston or the membrane by a lever or another means is arranged in such a way that an underpressure in the suction tube opens the gripping device. The closing of the gripping device may be actuated by a spring or a weight.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate by way of example a preferred means for carrying into efiect my invention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the operating parts of the winding machine. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the mouth of the suction tube and gripping device.

A rotating shaft 1 carries a thread guiding drum 2 and drives a crosswound package 4. The thread 25 to be wound from the bobbin to the package 4 runs from the bobbin 5 over the bolt 20, the tensioner 19,

the clearer 17, 18, and is guided by the drum 2 to the package 4. A knotting device comprises a curved arm 6, a straight arm and a knotter 9. A number of replenishment bobbins held in reserve can be brought to the position of bobbin 5 to replace the bobbin 5 when.

it is empty. The yarn ends running from the nose of the replenishment bobbins converge in point 8.

At the end of the tubular arm 10 a lid 27 is positioned which is part of a fulcrum lever 29 pivotally fastened to the bolt 28. The lever 29 is made under the action of a spring 33 and a piston 106 connected to the lever 29 by a rod 105. The piston 106 slides in the cylinder 107 and is set in motion as soon as the air pressure inside the tube 23 is lower than the outside atmospheric pressure.

When the bobbin 5 is exhausted or when the thread breaks which in general takes place at the cleaner 17, 18, the straight arm 10 pivots down to the position 10,

indicated in dash-dots, and returns automatically by means not shown in the drawing.

When the arm 10 is in its lower position, the tube 23 is connected with an air suction device. At first, the lid 27 is closed and the pressure inside the tube decreases. Now under the action of the atmospherical pressure, the piston 186 slides to the dash-dotted position 1436 thus opening the lid 27 by way of the lever 29. Now a suction effect is created in the gap between the lid 27 and the mouth of the tube 23. When the arm 10 passes by either the broken end of the thread in position between rod 20 and tensioner 19 (in the case of a yarn breakage) or the end of a fresh replenishment bobbin brought to position 5 (in the case of the replenishment bobbin having run out) the thread end concerned exposed to the suction effect is drawn into the mouth of the tube 23.

The connection of the tubular arm 10 with the suction device is only existent as long as the mouth of the arm 10 is in a position lower than the point 23; the connection is severed as soon as the arm 10 rises above point 32. When the connection of the arm 19 with the suction device on its upward path is severed, the lid 27 is closed by the action of the spring 33, thus clamping fast the end held in the mouth of the tube. This end is now presented to the knotter 9 which ties it to the end of the package 4, which in its turn has in the meantime been brought to the knotter 9 by the curved arm 6. The normal winding operation can now be continued.

I claim:

1. Clamping device for gripping a thread in any condition comprising a suction tube forming part of means for carrying a thread to a knotter on an automatic coil winding machine, a suction mouth at one end of the said suction tube, a lid closing or opening the suction mouth, operating means for closing the lid actuated by the difierence of air pressure between the inside and the outside of the suction tube with an enlarged power transmission and operating means working independently of the condition of the clamping device for closing the lid when no difference of air pressure between the inside and the outside of the suction tube is maintained.

2. Clamping device for gripping a thread comprising a suction tube forming part of means for carrying a thread to a knotter on an automatic coil winding machine, a suction mouth at one end of the said suction tube, a lid closing or opening the suction mouth and a piston sliding in a suitable cylinder connected with the suction tube and means for transmitting the movement of the piston to the lid and for enlarging the power of the piston.

3. Clamping device for gripping a thread comprising a suction tube forming part of means for carrying a thread to a knotter on an automatic coil winding machine, a suction mouth at one end of the said suction tube, a lid closing or opening the suction mouth and a piston sliding in a suitable cylinder connected with the suction tube, means for transmitting the movement of the piston to the lid and enlarging the power of the piston and a spring strong enough to close the lid when the difference of air pressure decreases essentially between the inside and the outside of the piston.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS. 

